Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
a. Claims 1-5 in the present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA :
- claims 1, 4, and 5 are amended
- claim 2 is canceled
b. This is a final action on the merits based on Applicant’s claims submitted on 01/30/2026.
Response to Arguments
Regarding Independent claims 1, 4, and 5 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant's first arguments, see “Thus, even if Liu were relied upon for a "preamble format" parameter as part of the first information, the rejection still fails unless the applied references teach or suggest that the second information itself-i.e., the information selected from among the "one or more second information-includes a preamble parameter that is associated with the feature combination information. The Office Action does not identify any such disclosure with the requisite specificity.” on page 2, filed on 01/30/2026, with respect to Futaki US Pub 2024/0397555, claiming foreign application priority 2021-10-20 (hereinafter “Futaki”), in view of Wei et al. US Pub 2023/0120155, claiming provisional application 63262743 priority 2021-10-19 (hereinafter “Wei”), and further in view of Lee et al. US Pub 2020/0229079 (hereinafter “Lee”), and of Liu et al. US Pub 2020/0022179 (hereinafter “Liu”), have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the previous rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Wang et al. US Pub 2023/0108510, claiming provisional application 63251504 priority 2021-10-01 (hereinafter “Wang”), in combination with previously applied references Futaki and Lee. See section Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 below for complete details.
Regarding Independent claims 1, 4, and 5 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant's second arguments, see “The Office Action relies on Wei for the "set of S-NSSAI" concept and on Lee for the "≤8" limitation. Applicant respectfully submits that this does not establish the claimed limitation in the required context-namely, a slice related field within feature combination information of a RACH-ConfigCommon broadcast in SIB1.” on page 3, filed on 01/30/2026, with respect to Futaki US Pub 2024/0397555, claiming foreign application priority 2021-10-20 (hereinafter “Futaki”), in view of Wei et al. US Pub 2023/0120155, claiming provisional application 63262743 priority 2021-10-19 (hereinafter “Wei”), and further in view of Lee et al. US Pub 2020/0229079 (hereinafter “Lee”), and of Liu et al. US Pub 2020/0022179 (hereinafter “Liu”), have been fully considered and are persuasive. Therefore, the previous rejection has been withdrawn. However, upon further consideration, a new ground of rejection is made in view of Kang et al. US Pub 2023/0292372 (hereinafter “Kang”), in combination with previously applied references Futaki and Lee. See section Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103 below for complete details.
Regarding Independent claims 1, 4, and 5 previously rejected under 35 U.S.C. § 103, Applicant's third arguments, see “The Office Action does not identify where Futaki, Wei, Lee, and/or Liu teaches or suggests indicating, in SIB1, feature priority information usable to prioritize selection among multiple "second information" options (i.e., among multiple feature-combination-related configurations), nor does it identify any teaching or suggestion to perform the claimed selection based on such priority information.” on page 3, filed on 01/30/2026, with respect to Futaki US Pub 2024/0397555, claiming foreign application priority 2021-10-20 (hereinafter “Futaki”), in view of Wei et al. US Pub 2023/0120155, claiming provisional application 63262743 priority 2021-10-19 (hereinafter “Wei”), and further in view of Lee et al. US Pub 2020/0229079 (hereinafter “Lee”), and of Liu et al. US Pub 2020/0022179 (hereinafter “Liu”), have been fully considered but are moot, over the limitations of “wherein the SIB1 further comprises feature priority information for selecting among the one or more second information”. Said limitations are newly added to the amended Claims 1, 4, and 5 and have been addressed in instant office action, as shown in section 35 USC 103 rejection below, with newly identified prior art teaching from newly found reference He et al. US Pub 2023/0038191, claiming domestic priority 2021-08-04 (hereinafter “He”), in combination with previously applied references Futaki and Lee, thus rendering said Applicant’s arguments moot.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claims 1 and 3-5 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Futaki US Pub 2024/0397555, claiming foreign application priority 2021-10-20 (hereinafter “Futaki”), in view of Kang et al. US Pub 2023/0292372 (hereinafter “Kang”), Lee et al. US Pub 2020/0229079 (hereinafter “Lee”), Wang et al. US Pub 2023/0108510, claiming provisional application 63251504 priority 2021-10-01 (hereinafter “Wang”), and further in view of He et al. US Pub 2023/0038191, claiming domestic priority 2021-08-04 (hereinafter “He”).
Regarding claim 1 (Currently Amended)
Futaki discloses a method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system (“a method performed by a radio terminal includes (a) selecting, from a plurality of beam-formed beams, a beam having an RSRP greater than a first RSRP threshold associated with a selected, desired, or intended feature or feature combination” [0024]), the method comprising:
receiving, by the terminal, a System Information Block] (SIB1) (“The random access configuration may be included in SIB 1.” [0093]), wherein:
the SIB1 comprises one or more RACH-ConfigCommon (“the RAN node 2 may broadcast a random access configuration in the cell 21, as shown in step 401 of FIG. 4. The random access configuration may include, for example, a RACH-ConfigCommon information element (IE) or may include an IE (e.g., RACH-ConfigFeatureCombination) which is newly specified in a BWP-UplinkCommon IE. The random access configuration may be included in SIB 1.” [0093]);
each of the one or more RACH-ConfigCommon comprises one or more second information (i.e. “RACH-ConfigFeatureCombination”) including feature combination information (“The random access configuration may include, for example, a RACH-ConfigCommon information element (IE) or may include an IE (e.g., RACH-ConfigFeatureCombination) which is newly specified in a BWP-UplinkCommon IE. The random access configuration may be included in SIB 1. For example, the random access configuration includes a plurality of RSRP thresholds, each associated with one of a plurality of features or with one of one or more combinations of two or more features included in the plurality of features. In other words, each of these multiple RSRP thresholds is associated with any feature or any feature combination. [0093]; and furthermore “a RACH resource partition is configured for each of all or a subset of the Release 17 features, as well as for each of the possible feature combinations or combinations of features.” [0077]), separately;
the feature combination information comprises a redcap related field (“The RedCap indication in RACH is used to indicate reduced capabilities to the network in the first RACH message (MSG1 in 4-step RA, MSGA in 2-step RA), allowing the network to adapt subsequent transmissions.” [0010]), a smallData related field (“The SDT indication in RACH is used to indicate SDT to the network and to request a larger third RACH message (MSG3) size. Alternatively, the SDT indication is used to indicate a larger MSGA size (i.e., the size of the data portion of the MSGA) in the case of a 2-step RA.” [0011]), a message 3 repetition related field (“The CovEnh indication in RACH is used to indicate the need for coverage enhancement, for example, to request a repetition of the third RACH message (MSG3 in 4-step RA). The CovEnh indication can be binary information to indicate whether a Msg3 PUSCH repetition is required or not.” [0012]), and a slice related field (“The slicing indication in RACH is used to indicate a higher-priority slice to the network and to achieve slice isolation even for RACH. The slicing indication can be binary information to distinguish between prioritized and non-prioritized network slices. Alternatively, the slicing indication may indicate a multi-level slice priority, a selected or intended network slice, or a selected or intended network slice group, which would further increase the number of partitions.” [0013]);
each of the redcap related field, the smallData related field, and the message 3 repetition field comprises a bit indicating a single value (“Specifically, a random access configuration (e.g., RACH-Config) sent by the RAN node 2 to the UE 1 may include a 1-bit flag (e.g., “mt-SDT”) as an optional element. If the random access configuration includes this flag, the UE 1 may use the RACH resource set for the (MO-)SDT feature also for MT-SDT. Conversely, if the random access configuration does not include this flag, the UE 1 checks whether a separate RACH resource set (or partition, or pool) is configured for MT-SDT and, if so, uses the separate RACH resource set for MT-SDT.” [0171]);
selecting, by the terminal, second information (i.e. “RACH-ConfigFeatureCombination”) among the one or more second information based on the feature combination information (“The random access configuration may include, for example, a RACH-ConfigCommon information element (IE) or may include an IE (e.g., RACH-ConfigFeatureCombination) which is newly specified in a BWP-UplinkCommon IE. The random access configuration may be included in SIB 1. For example, the random access configuration includes a plurality of RSRP thresholds, each associated with one of a plurality of features or with one of one or more combinations of two or more features included in the plurality of features. In other words, each of these multiple RSRP thresholds is associated with any feature or any feature combination. [0093]; and
performing, by the terminal, random access procedure based on the first information and the selected second information (“In step 804, the UE 1 performs a random access preamble transmission using a random access resource associated with the selected uplink carrier (NUL or SUL). Specifically, the MAC layer 206 of the UE 1 selects a RACH resource to be used for the RACH preamble transmission from a set of random access resources (RACH resources) associated with the selected uplink carrier and associated with the selected feature or feature combination. The set of RACH resources includes RACH preambles, or combinations of RACH occasions and RACH preambles.” [0116]),
Futaki does not specifically teach the slice related field comprises information corresponding to a set of Single-Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI).
In an analogous art, Kang discloses the slice related field comprises information corresponding to a set of Single-Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI) (“The rach-ConfigCommonSlice may indicate SupportedSliceInfo information including slice/service identification information (NSSAI) and rach-ConfigCommon information to be used by the terminal for the corresponding slice/service slice/service NSSAI and rach-ConfigCommon information to be used by the terminal for the slice/service NSSAI.” [0090] and furthermore “Slice specific RACH-Dedicated configuration information may configure different RACH resources to one or multiple slices/service NSSAI in the same manner as that of the case of RACH-ConfigCommon of FIGS. 6A and 6B. A RACH resource for one or multiple slices/services may include at least one or a combination of RACH occasions or PRACH preambles configured to one or multiple slices/services.” [0105]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Futaki’s method of RACH partitioning to support different features to include Kang’s method for processing slice-based system access configuration information of a terminal in a wireless communication system, in order to determine whether the service slice is supported and enabled (Kang [0090]).
Futaki and Kang do not specifically teach the set of S-NSSAI includes no more than 8 S-NSSAIs.
In an analogous art, Lee discloses the set of S-NSSAI includes no more than 8 S-NSSAIs (“the electronic device 101 may determine the number of s-NSSAIs included in a requested NSSAI as a maximum number (e.g., 8) according to the standard specification to enhance a probability that as many s-NSSAIs as possible will be allowed from a network.” [0112] and furthermore “According to an embodiment, the electronic device 101 may determine at least one of s-NSSAIs included in a configured NSSAI as a requested NSSIA using the application NSSAI. The method for determining the request NSSAI may include a method for i) determining a maximum number of s-NSSAIs (e.g., 8 s-NSSAIs) as a requested NSSIA” [0109]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Futaki’s method of RACH partitioning to support different features, as modified by Kang, to include Lee’s method for selecting a network slice suitable for a service type or quality of service (QoS), in order to enhance a probability that as many s-NSSAIs as possible will be allowed from a network (Lee [0112]).
Futaki, Kang and Lee do not specifically teach RACH-ConfigCommon comprises first information including a parameter for preamble format.
In an analogous art, Wang discloses RACH-ConfigCommon comprises first information including a parameter for preamble format (“The preamble start index for the first feature or feature combination for other SSBs mapped to the RO may be determined to be with o.Math.N.sub.preable.sup.total/N offsets from the indicated preamble start index, where N is the number of SSBs mapped to the RO, N.sub.preable.sup.total is the value provided by totalNumberOfRA-Preambles in rach-ConfigCommon, and o=1, 2, . . . , N−1 is the order of the SSB mapped to the RO after the first SSB that is mapped to the RO.” [0140]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Futaki’s method of RACH partitioning to support different features, as modified by Kang and Lee, to include Wang’s method for transmitting uplink carrier configuration information and preamble transmission configuration, in order to determine whether rach-ConfigCommon information is properly transmitted (Wang [0140]).
Futaki, Kang, Lee, and Wang do not specifically teach wherein the SIB1 further comprises feature priority information for selecting among the one or more second information.
In an analogous art, He discloses wherein the SIB1 further comprises feature priority information for selecting among the one or more second information (“Furthermore, the rules may be specified in wireless communication standards to avoid having to signal the one or more rules in system information, which may reduce signaling overhead associated with SIBs (e.g., SIB1, which carries most RACH-related configuration information and is approaching a capacity limit). Alternatively, in some aspects, the one or more rules that define the relative priorities among different RACH features (including combination of features) may be advertised or otherwise signaled in system information transmitted by the base station 110, which may provide the base station 110 with more flexibility to configure RACH partitions based on an expected load associated with different RACH features. For example, in some aspects, the base station 110 may advertise the priority associated with a particular RACH feature in system information using a tuple that includes elements to identify the RACH feature, the priority level for the RACH feature, and one or more RACH configuration parameters for the RACH feature (e.g., PRACH configuration and/or RACH transmission parameters, among other examples).” [0086]).
Before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art to modify Futaki’s method of RACH partitioning to support different features, as modified by Kang, Lee, and Wang, to include He’s method associated with a unified approach to random access channel (RACH) partitioning and indication, in order to facilitate RACH partitioning based on feature’s priority (He [0086]). Thus, a person of ordinary skill would have appreciated the ability to incorporate He’s method associated with a unified approach to random access channel (RACH) partitioning and indication into Futaki’s method of RACH partitioning to support different features since the claimed invention is merely a combination of old elements, and in the combination each element merely would have performed the same function as it did separately, and one of ordinary skill in the art would have recognized that the results of the combination were predictable.
Regarding claim 3 (Currently Amended)
Futaki, as modified by Kang, Lee, Wang, and He, previously discloses the method of claim 1, wherein:
Futaki further discloses in case that the redcap related field is present in the feature combination information, redcap is part of the feature combination (“For example, possible feature combinations include RedCap+SDT, RedCap+CovEnh, RedCap+Slicing, RedCap+SDT+CovEnh, RedCap+SDT+Slicing, RedCap+CovEnh+Slicing, and so on.” [0009]);
in case that the smallData related field is present in the feature combination information, small data transmission is part of the feature combination (“For example, possible feature combinations include RedCap+SDT, RedCap+CovEnh, RedCap+Slicing, RedCap+SDT+CovEnh, RedCap+SDT+Slicing, RedCap+CovEnh+Slicing, and so on.” [0009]);
in case that the message 3 repetition related field is present in the feature combination information, message 3 repetition is part of the feature combination (“For example, possible feature combinations include RedCap+SDT, RedCap+CovEnh, RedCap+Slicing, RedCap+SDT+CovEnh, RedCap+SDT+Slicing, RedCap+CovEnh+Slicing, and so on.” [0009]), and
in case that the slice related field is present in the feature combination information, the set of S-NSSAI indicated by information of the slice related field is part of the feature combination (“For example, possible feature combinations include RedCap+SDT, RedCap+CovEnh, RedCap+Slicing, RedCap+SDT+CovEnh, RedCap+SDT+Slicing, RedCap+CovEnh+Slicing, and so on.” [0009]).
Regarding claim 4 (Currently Amended)
Futaki discloses a terminal (“UE 1” in Fig. 12; [0154]) in a wireless communication system, the terminal comprising:
a transceiver (“RF transceiver 1201” in Fig. 12; [0154]) configured to transmit and receive a signal, and
a controller (“application processor 1204” in Fig. 12; [0159]) configured to control the transceiver to:
receive a System Information Block1 (SIB1), wherein:
the SIB1 comprises one or more RACH-ConfigCommon;
each of the one or more RACH-ConfigCommon comprises first information including a parameter for preamble format and one or more second information including feature combination information, separately;
the feature combination information comprises a redcap related field, a smallData related field, a message 3 repetition related field, and a slice related field;
each of the redcap related field, the smallData related field, and the message 3 repetition field comprises a bit indicating a single value;
the slice related field comprises information corresponding to a set of Single-Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI); and
the set of S-NSSAI includes no more than 8 S-NSSAIs;
wherein the SIB1 further comprises feature priority information for selecting among the one or more second information;
select second information among the one or more second information based on the feature combination information; and
perform random access procedure based on the first information and the selected second information,
wherein the second information includes a parameter for preamble associated with the feature combination information.
The scope and subject matter of apparatus claim 4 is drawn to the apparatus of using the corresponding method claimed in claim 1. Therefore apparatus claim 4 corresponds to method claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 1 rejection above.
Regarding claim 5 (Currently Amended)
Futaki discloses a method by a base station (“RAN node 2” in Fig. 13; [0164]) in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
transmitting, by the base station, a System Information Block1 (SIB1), wherein:
the SIB1 comprises one or more RACH-ConfigCommon;
each of the one or more RACH-ConfigCommon comprises first information including a parameter for preamble format and one or more second information including feature combination information, separately;
the feature combination information comprises a redcap related field, a smallData related field, a message 3 repetition related field, and a slice related field;
each of the redcap related field, the smallData related field, and the message 3 repetition field comprises a bit indicating a single value;
the slice related field comprises information corresponding to a set of Single- Network Slice Selection Assistance Information (S-NSSAI); and
the set of S-NSSAI includes no more than 8 S-NSSAIs;
wherein the SIB1 further comprises feature priority information for selecting among the one or more second information;
performing by the base station with a terminal, random access procedure based on the first information and second information among the one or more second information.
The scope and subject matter of method claim 5 is reciprocal to the scope and subject matter of method claimed in claim 1. Therefore method claim 5 corresponds to method claim 1 and is rejected for the same reasons of obviousness as used in claim 1 rejection above.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to CHUONG M NGUYEN whose telephone number is (571)272-8184. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 10:00am - 6:30pm.
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/CHUONG M NGUYEN/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2411